


Just Like An Angel

by Athenowl



Series: Marauders Fics [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: "I'm pretending to be your best friend because of a creep at the bar", Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M, M/M, Snape is That Asshole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:01:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27182161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Athenowl/pseuds/Athenowl
Summary: “Hey, I’m not done talking to you!” A clammy hand closed around her free wrist and Lily gritted her teeth, preparing to tell this asshole exactly where he could stick his ‘politeness’.“There you are, Tuney! Thought I’d lost track of you!” A new voice, chipper and falsely bright, cut in.Lily shifted Mary and extracted her wrist from Severus’ grip, turning to face the newcomer. He was smiling broadly at her, but she could see the concern behind his thick glasses. She nodded subtly and tilted her head toward the unconscious girl on her shoulder. “Nah, I was just taking Mary home. Such a lightweight, you know?”“I do indeed. Need a hand?” Lily’s first instinct was to tighten her hold on her friend. One strange guy was enough for one night, even if this one seemed halfway decent. At least he asked, she thought.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Series: Marauders Fics [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1737466
Comments: 16
Kudos: 182





	Just Like An Angel

**Author's Note:**

> Another modern oneshot! The response to Kind Gestures absolutely blew me away--thanks for all the support!

Within an hour of arriving at the bar, Lily decided that she would never go out to a bar with Mary MacDonald again, not for a million pounds. She hadn’t even planned to go with her in the first place—Lily adored Mary, sure, but she was well-known for being the worst drinking partner on the planet, and if Marlene hadn’t come down with the flu at the last moment Lily would certainly be having a good time.

 _Damn you for being such a good girlfriend, McKinnon_ , she thought as Mary snored again. She had had the same problem last week, too, except it was Dorcas that had been ill and Marlene stayed home to take care of her. “I’ll be fine, Lils!” Marlene had chirped. “My immune system can handle a couple days of making my girlfriend soup.”

Evidently not.

Lily grimaced as her shoulder began to cramp from the weight of Mary’s head pressing directly into her tendon and took a large swig of beer; the worst part was, it wasn’t even _good_ beer, and reminded her more of sucking on a piece of wheat than alcohol. “Right then, Mary, I think we should head home.”

“Hmm?” Mary mumbled, her eyes still closed. Lily sighed—all she wanted was one Saturday night where she could let loose a little, rather than poring over yet another book on the civil rights issues of the modern world.

A long shadow entered Lily’s periphery and she tensed. “Can I buy you a drink?”

“No, I think I’m good,” she said, pasting on a smile as she turned around. _Greasy. Yikes_. The guy was tall, but the kind of tall that made him loom over her in a highly unsavory way. He was doing the Douchebag Lean, too, blocking her view of the door. _Fuck_.

“Are you sure? The beer here is atrocious and a beautiful woman such as yourself deserves only the finest.”

 _I’m going to puke,_ Lily realized. _I’m not even tipsy and this sleezeball is going to make me physically sick_. “Really, I’m fine. My friend and I were just heading home.”

“So soon? Look, I promise I’m a nice guy.” He held out his hand and Lily took it reluctantly, then immediately regretted it as he placed a damp kiss to her knuckles. “I’m Severus.”

“Petunia,” Lily lied, slowly pulling her hand away and wiping on her jeans. “Nice to meet you.”

“What do you study, Petunia?” Sleezeball— _no, Severus, but somehow that was worse?_ —asked, taking a step closer.

“Law. And yourself?”

“Philosophy and Chemistry. Double major.” His chest puffed out a bit beneath his black turtleneck and Lily internally rolled her eyes. Of _course_ he was the type to preen. “It’s fascinating that you’re immersed in the study of law. You must be quite intelligent for a woman.”

 _Ah, there it is_. “I think I’m just quite intelligent, period,” Lily corrected him, meeting his dark eyes head-on. “Is there anything else you’d like to ask, or can I take my friend home now? I don’t think she’s feeling too well.”

Severus seemed rather taken aback by her abruptness. Good. “There’s no need to be rude. I’m just being polite.”

Lily bit the inside of her cheek to stifle the flames rising at the back of her throat. Who did this guy think he was? “Of course you are. Have a nice night, Severus.” She wrapped an arm around Mary’s waist and straightened up, staggering a little beneath the dead weight of her friend as she started toward the door.

“Hey, I’m not done talking to you!” A clammy hand closed around her free wrist and Lily gritted her teeth, preparing to tell this asshole _exactly_ where he could stick his ‘politeness’.

“There you are, Tuney! Thought I’d lost track of you!” A new voice, chipper and falsely bright, cut in.

Lily shifted Mary and extracted her wrist from Severus’ grip, turning to face the newcomer. He was smiling broadly at her, but she could see the concern behind his thick glasses. She nodded subtly and tilted her head toward the unconscious girl on her shoulder. “Nah, I was just taking Mary home. Such a lightweight, you know?”

“I do indeed. Need a hand?” Lily’s first instinct was to tighten her hold on her friend. One strange guy was enough for one night, even if this one seemed halfway decent. _At least he asked_ , she thought.

“I think I’ve got her.”

“Cool!” Smiling Boy turned to face Severus and his smile grew thin. “Severus, fancy seeing you here. How’s your night going?”

“It _was_ fine, Potter,” Severus spat. His threatening loom disappeared beneath Potter’s sharp gaze. “Petunia and I were having a nice conversation before you butted in. Why don’t you just mind your own business?”

“Tuney and I go way back,” Potter lied smoothly. “Look, buddy, it’s getting late and I think it would be best if you headed back to the dorms. I have it on good authority that you haven’t even started the lab that’s due tomorrow morning for Slughorn’s class, and it would be a real shame if you lost your perfect record.”

Severus turned a horrific shade of mauve and stormed out the door without a word; the instant he was out of sight, Potter leaned against the bar and blew out a long breath, running his hands beneath his glasses. “Yikes,” Lily said quietly.

“God, I hate that guy. Are you alright? You seemed to be handling yourself fine, but then he grabbed you and—”

“I’m alright,” Lily interrupted as she set Mary down on one of the barstools and tucked her sweater beneath her head as a pillow. Her poor shoulder would never be the same. “Thanks for stepping in when you did.”

“No worries. I’m James, by the way.” He held his hand out, then course-corrected at her suspicious expression and waved shyly. “I’m not going to kiss your hand if you don’t want me to, I promise.”

Lily snorted. “What a gentleman. My name’s Lily.”

James tilted his head to the side. “Not Petunia?”

“I didn’t want Creep Central to know my real name,” she explained, taking a seat.

“Ah. Makes sense.” James craned his neck to look over her shoulder and gave a thumbs-up to someone. The hair on the back of Lily’s neck stood on end and she quickly turned toward the booths. Two men around her age were sitting next to each other, waving back at James.

“What are you doing?” she asked him, preparing for some gross pickup line.

“Hm? Oh, those are my friends. They were worried about you and Mary, too, but I got here first. Do you want to come sit down with us and have some water? If you need to get your friend home, that’s totally cool and we’d be more than happy to walk you back and keep an eye out for creeps.”

In any other circumstance, Lily would refuse. She was not emotionally fortified enough right now to handle another gross boy making moves on her, especially around his friends. But there was genuine worry in his soft hazel eyes and he hadn’t made a single threatening move, innuendo, or turn of phrase that made Lily think he had an ulterior motive. “Sure, I can spare a couple of minutes.”

James’ whole face lit up and he smiled crookedly. “Great! Are you good with just water or do you want something else?”

“Water’s fine, thanks.”

“Excuse me?” James tapped on the counter to get the bartender’s attention. “Three waters, please.”

“Here, I can carry one of those.” Lily hoisted Mary back to her feet and reached for one of the cups.

“Are you sure? Don’t you need two hands for your friend?”

Lily rolled her eyes and took a glass. “If I spill water on her, it’ll be her own fault for drinking two whole pints.”

“You weren’t kidding about the lightweight thing, were you?” James laughed as he led them to the table in the back. “I’m going to guess this wasn’t your original plan for the night.”

“Not even a little,” Lily shook her head and smiled. “I _was_ planning on taking the night off with one of my other friends and procrastinate studying for my criminal justice exam on Tuesday.”

“You’re a Law major? That’s so cool!” James set two of the waters down on the table and helped her settle Mary into the booth. “Um, these are my friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.”

“Nice to meet you both, I’m Lily and this—” she gestured to Mary, who had slumped against Remus’ side and snuggled into his knit sweater. “—is Mary. I promise she won’t hurl on you.”

“You’re sure you’re okay, right?” Sirius poked James in the side as the taller man sat on his lap. “This one’s not known for his tact.”

 _Are they…?_ “Yeah, just a little shaken. Your boyfriend’s quite the knight in shining armor, you know.” Lily raised her water to him in toast and took a long drink of it, letting the coolness wash away her latent adrenaline.

“Thank y—wait, what?” Remus looked up at her from where he was propping Mary up and frowned. “I didn’t do anything. I wanted to, but James got up first.”

Lily was even more confused than she had been a moment ago. “I was talking about James?”

“Oh!” James’ mouth dropped open and he quickly shoved Sirius further into the booth. “No, no, Sirius is my brother! He and Remus are a thing, not him and me. Blegh.” They shuddered in dramatic unison and Sirius scooted away from him.

“I’m sorry, I just kind of assumed.” Lily could feel the itchy heat creeping into her face. _Great first impression, Evans. You’re really killing it tonight_.

Remus rolled his eyes next to her. “It happens _all the time_ , don’t worry. I think your friend is waking up, by the way.”

Sure enough, Mary was blinking blearily and yawned so hard her jaw crackled. “ ‘m tired, Lils.”

“Let’s get you home, then. Marlene is going to laugh so hard when she hears that you fell asleep after two drinks, honey,” Lily said in the gentlest, sweetest voice she could manage. “I think that’s a new record for you.”

Across the table, Sirius perked up. “Marlene? Marlene McKinnon?”

“Yeah, she’s a friend of mine.”

“No way! I’ve known Marlene since high school! What are the odds?”

“One in a million.” Lily smiled. The last of her worries about the group of guys melted away—if Marlene was friends with them, they couldn’t be too bad. “I’ll have to tell her I met you the next time we get together.”

“Or I could—we could add you to our group chat? It’s Sirius’ birthday next week and she’s in charge of planning the P-A-R-T-Y,” James suggested, casting a mischievous look at his brother.

“You know I can spell, right?” Sirius asked, looking entirely unamused. “I’m not a dog.”

“Are you sure?” Remus muttered into his pint with a snort. “Could’ve fooled me.”

The betrayal on Sirius’ face was worthy of an Oscar. “I am not a—you are so mean! Lily, tell them I’m not a dog.”

“I’ve known you for a grand total of ten minutes and you seem perfectly human to me,” Lily said around her laughter. “As long as you don’t start licking anyone, you’ll be fine.”

“Thank you!” Sirius huffed. “You’re my new best friend. James, you traitor, you’ve lost brother privileges. Remus, no kisses for a week.”

Remus set his glass down and stuck his bottom lip out, turning on the saddest puppy eyes Lily had ever seen in her life. “A week?”

Sirius opened and closed his mouth a couple times, then settled into a halfhearted scowl. “Four days, you adorable bastard.”

“Ha! You won’t make it two, but it’s the thought that counts.” Remus grinned at Lily and she had the sudden feeling that this was a regular occurrence in this group.

“Do you want to put your number into the group chat, Lily?” James asked, sounding beyond amused as he held out his phone. “As long as you can put up with these two, I promise it’ll be fun.”

“If I can handle Marlene and Dorcas, I can handle anything,” Lily said, entering her number into his contacts. “There. I guess I’ll see you guys around?”

“Absolutely.” There was that crooked smile again, the one that made his hazel eyes twinkle.

“Thanks again for stepping in, James.”

“Anytime, Lily.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm thinking about making a separate series for the modern Marauders oneshots; what do you all think? I'm totally open to prompt requests and I love hearing your thoughts. Comments and kudos inspire me like you wouldn't believe, so don't hesitate to leave them! I hope you enjoyed this!
> 
> Come talk to me on Tumblr at @wayward-demigod-witch!


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